NIAS Consciousness Studies Programme Blog

The Body-Mind and Beyond

What is the difference between the present and the beyond? Can the
“beyond” be in the present, or will it always be in a future realm?

Harikrishnan NB: Present is the current state of body/mind whether the individual is aware about it or not. The notion of being aware what is happening now with reference to a time instant is a subset of my definition of present, if we are thinking about the past then that is our present. If we are thinking about future then that becomes the present. But you will be able to know your present only if you are aware about it. In my definition if awareness of the current state is not there then the individual will not know his/ her present. So awareness is required to know one’s present. Beyond- For me beyond is the limit of human intelligence, the limit of knowing. According to my definition of present, beyond can be in the present if we acknowledge the limit of human intelligence and to know that we should be aware.

Amrutha MK: Present is somewhere between the past and the future. Present is something that is there and everything in the present has a dimension. But we cannot restrict beyond in a time frame. It’s an undefined space, without any dimension. It cannot be in the present or future. There is always some frame of reference in present but in beyond everything is free of temporal and spatial dimensions.

Meera Kumar: While that which ‘is’ seems comprehensible in the present, anything that is ‘beyond’ always seems to be displaced in time, somewhat incomprehensible, or rather incomprehensible yet. In that sense, that which is comprehended moves from the realm of the future to that of the present, where is that which is yet to be known, remains a distant possibility of the future.

Niharika Sharma: Present is each moment passing by. The awareness of each moment,space and time, “I” expressing itself as body, mind, brain, knowledge is present. Beyond is still a mystery and undefined for me. It cannot be expressed by our limited knowledge and words. The temporal and spacial aspect do not exist in that beyond. I represent this beyond as endless light in which body, mind, brain, knowledge and words floats but nothing can define or measure it. Beyond is everywhere and every time but still free from it. Beyond is something which can only be experienced. It does not need a present or future realm to be experienced.

PD Sathish Chandra: Beyond is ever present, but it has become a term (for me) of reference to answer what lies after present gets over. Beyond of-course shapes our present, since we plan to get a better life or result. Beyond holds a lot of weight in my thinking, because it is uncertain, unlike present. Present becomes our memories, and if the present has caused disturbance then we would avoid it (to make it positive) by planning our beyond. Beyond also addresses the undefined I, You and Me.

Prashanth Noorjet: Present is anything that is there in front of you- what is observable and understandable by you. Beyond will be something that is not so clearly in front of you. Putting it another way the present is what you can sense and perceive in daily life without any extra help. Beyond will be what our senses cannot see, but is there. What is beyond the realm of normal perception can be seen with the help of science(microscope) or through training and practice. So the beyond exists outside of our present, but is not totally unreachable. However, whether or not it can be still called beyond once you have accessed it it something i am still doubtful of. Beyond is something unfathomable, unobserved in simple consciousness. In that sense, it can be the future. But it is not only the future, as even in the present there are things which are past your grasp .

Rakesh Kumar: For me present is ongoing or occurring parallel to time and beyond is an abstract which is free from time and my limitations. Yes beyond be in the present ( in case of limitations ) if i am able to expand my limitations of my framework, it is not always a future realm but in spatial and temporal notion it is always a part of future realm because present itself is a drop of future because it is embedded in future. e.g.
Past…Present…Future…

Vaishali Sharma: According to the dictionary, present refers to the time which is occurring now and more precisely, we can have control over the present to some degree. But “the beyond” is something which consists of possibilities, consciousness, awareness & imagination. According to me, beyond is something which occurs at the fringe/ space of intersection of body and mind. It is the place or the space where we are experiencing many things which our mind & body is not capable of think of or feel individually. “Beyond” can be in the present and it is not necessarily be in the future realm always as it can be thought of as water coming to the sea shore and leaving the symbol of its coming on the shore that it had come. Awareness is the term we can use here to make this analogy meaningful that awareness comes to us all of a sudden and leave the body-mind thereafter.